Vehicle operated bump gate



Nov. 9, 1954 A. DEAN, JR

VEHICLE OPERATED BUMP GATE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 5, 1951 .l l, MVENTOR Albert Dearzf, .5.

Nov. 9, 1954 A. DEAN, JR

VEHICLE OPERATED BUMP GATE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 5, 1951 INVENTOR Alberi! DeaJnJ'. Y

Nov. 9, `1954 A. DEAN, JR 2,693,653

` VEHICLE OPERATED BUMP GATE Filed March 5, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 LY .iwi

W,... nnnnzwn@ @Enz @@@aaaa a @aix ,QW N Mp f//f ATTORNEY Albe t Dear-@Jig United States Patent C) VEHIGLEOPERATED BUMR GAl'E;I Albert D ean; Jr., ,San Antonio, Tex.. Application'March'S, 1951;'SerilnNog2132Q41f 815 Claims@L ((li;39`^'-311)Pv This invention relatesx to.swingi ngf.fgates`; and i isgmore*4 particularly concerned iwithf. gates adapted to bje disposed across a highway andwhichcanabe automatically opened-'L by pressurev applied f toeitherfside'l of# thev gate,u 'suoli as-, byl an. automobile or other-fvehicle,- andifwhich autoim matically-closes without-- any 4further''manipulationthereof? In providing gates of:""the typementioned; one-off thediculties resides in the f act that after the gate is'lopaened the.y automatic meansy for closirigi its@ goes into operation immediately after* the-gate is openedorafterf thefpresv sure used to open itfis-releasedzf- A-s a-resul-t,L theffvehiclesJ` intending t to pass lth-rough? the openedi gate= oftenMdos-not' have su'icient timestoldoso'V heforefthe f gateJ closest. Consequently, the rvehicle inf passingthrough-theegatesisffrequently struck' by the/gate as itlis#closing;-reslting=; in damagetotthe:vehicleor-to1thef-gate; orrbothi, This" deciency y is more severe in the: casefoflong Jvehicles Ior.l combinations ofy vehiclesky such^ asV trucks;4 traetorszand#A trailers; farming:y equipment',- etc: Accordingly; one oft, the -principal objects Aofy Ithis :invention 'fis the provision4 offia-gate ofthetypementioned* which functions inrsuehf'l; a manner as to p ermit vehicles of= all'typesftotpass-through n without-danger of beingfstruckfby thefgatein closing:

Anotherobject :of the invention is` -the provisionrof "suchK a f gate which r opens quickly but has: a definite timeela'g in;y closingso I asto Aavoid` colflisionfwithl ahvehicle-'passing f therethrough;

A further object of-theinvention.isfthe-provision of agate with delayed closingfact-ion; inl Wh'ich; the time;- lag can be adjusted for dilerenttypes of vehicles.I

'A further' object is-A the provision-Y oila:l gateywh'ichcan be opened either, automatically-by l a vehiiele-o1= manually; by a person on foot.

A still further object: is-thel provisions in` combination with a, quick` opening gate of thef` type mentionedlof aV dash pot element to retardl the gateL againstr action ofy positive means for-closing 'it.

A .still further object isy the; provisionV ofal gatey of the type mentioned whichsy securelyfanehored infthfe= ground Aand so= designedas` to= resist-r damage under;y red peated impactsto whichsit isfnormallysubjectediin beingl opened and: closedf.

A still further objectiisfto.- provide: such-` agatelwithrj: means for'adjustingzit-.sto lproper-"position lshoulditlbecom@ misalignedwhile'- iny use.

The invention r isf. describedghereinafterf more: fully;v in. which reference, is madez to'` thee accompanying-drawing: and further objectsfand advantages willfappear there,V from;

vIn the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view-offagateeillustrating an embodiment of thisginventiom and showir'rgjap-velricle:in` position -relativethereto foropeningthegate:

Figure 2 is an enlarged*fragmentary;perspectivewiew of the latch, mechanism; v

Figure 3is an enlarged,perspectiveview..showing;deatails of lsome of the parts of-jthelatclvmeehanismr,

Figure 4' is an enlarged,elevationahview of. theelatch; mechanism.

Figure 5 'is a.top.p1an viewrofthe gatetpartlyf-brokenf away.

Figure 6 .is an; enlarged.peugspectivefviewf-o` ati-portion of,- the dash ppt and-mounting Itherefor Figure. 7 is afhorizontal section: along the; linef7a+a-71 of'Figure.V- 1". v

Figure.: 85 isz; an;,enlarg ediverticalrse,ction showing: the;n

ICC

meansr for:t adjustablyfrmounting the hinge xpost: oi 'thefgatedn-th Agground:

Figure-Sais anlenlarged vertical-i section; of the vertical' frame member: adjacent:` thethinge.1 post-illustrating the constructiony thereoff and: the. manner fof attach-ing'` itl to thehinge;- p ost.-`

Referring` A with# morel particularityto the drawing.` in which-dike mumeralwdesignate like parts;l thev embodiment illustrated comprises a hingegaterllfl mounted-between- 0 athililge'rpstzlhand;arlatchgpost 13:.. Sid;p.osts..are :each

o bolts :43%v and? 444.'.

adiustablfyamountedt in; thefgrouml-:by'1 meansf of: aflroll'owl cylinderi or, caissons 174:,having` an open` top; projecting:l abovegfthe grou-nd; levelfand-11a closecLbottom 15.'. Hor-. izontalY cross; rods.; 16=, and.n 17 are disposed "throughgthef: botftmz: section :of-` each caisson. and: extend-5 radiallytoutf warcllyfas substantial distance. in:` the.- surrounding1 soil to; st eadygandihold ii-rm `the;caissonginthe:ground.` The... bottom. t of t each lpost is;x provided: with.l verticalI slots. 18 whicli. f,over.therods 16;- and. 17 andnare held therebylv to position? the. postssubstantiallycoaxial` with. ther caissonsr. The topof thecaissous are. provided with ra,-`v difahadjustingscrews 1,8%L whichrabutth'e posts andtherebygprermittthe settingfofy each postrat, a true `vertical"po:Y sition.

The'gate is hinged'tothehinge post 1,21 by pivotally,A mounting; thereon the adjacentA hollow. vertical framel members 1 9 t ofn the 3 gate. This is done by means of,4 brackets -20 1and-21-fsecured toythe hinge post and 'extend inginwardly. Thel nnervends of'the brackets are providedwith"A bearings 22' and^ 23;- respectively; which ppiv.-A otal-lyfengage-thevframe `member.y 19-. A stop collar 24; is-secured i to uthe/*frame memberl above-the bearing-23 to limfitdownwardfmovement-- of thef'gate relativeI to the;- post 12.

Thevlowen section-fof themember- 19l is-hollow and contains a stici vertical-g coil-spring-fZSiJ The upperr end of? the coilfspringis1securedl tof ar collary 26'- which, turn, is securedtotheupperendof a verticalshaft 271 The-lower-endot thespringis attachedlto= a collar 27a that-isfsecuredl'to -th'e lower end-lofthe member 119. The` shaft 27fis-di`sposedwithin the coil spring andextendsfrorntthe: top tto .the bottom,- l then- :through-the collar 27 a and-u' projects beyond the bottom of l the frame jmember 19Itos-engageva bracket ZfsecuredA to-the-hingepost Theslowerfendloffthe-shaftlis adjustably secured tothe bracketi28by: I means ofafset screw 2.9 #or byy any other,` suitable'lmeans.

Aboutthe exterior-ofithefrarne-member 191"a-V cylinder 30is seoureds A portion-Hof said cylinderis cut'away'vtol provideragLcam-:surface 31,` substantially-asshown, in contaetf with.: a verticalI roller' 32'! mountedl onA thepost 12. Whenwtheegate isfin its. .nor-mallyclosed position -the rollerI 32:contacts .the cam surface=31at its highest point; Fromthis..point thecamsurface extends downwardlyvon either sidelthrou'ghan are of-lab'out;90 degrees; By` these means,A whenffthe.` gatef is opened 'in either. direction, the, action ofl thetcamisurface onthe` roller causes -the gate to -gradually raisegrelativevtofthe.` hingefpostflZ; During the opening' of.1fthe-'gateinf this way, the coil springl y25'is tensioned so1 th'atwh'en-.thegate is fully` openI the action offthe springA plus-.the weight-'otathe gateacting on the roller throughr the oarrrsurfaceuin4 contacttherewith-tends tourge the; gate toitstclosediipositional It The latch mechanism :ofithegate'isassociated with'vtheA latclnpost'zlz'and theadjacent .vertical framegmemberf 33 Osfhefgater. The saidiframe member-SSficarries a pivotedtv leyenfttwhichfis normally.- -verticaL Saidztlever is biased: inthe-Vertical ppition'bymeans. of ia. coil yspring.35.:l'laving one end connected tothe lower arm 34: ofthe lever. The other end :ofi the coil spring.- 35.isv attached -to .a bolt `36 whichismounted ton, a; lug,A 3.7 offfthe :frame-member, 33;A and ,provided ,with tan. adjustinggnutt38 b'lowthesa-id. lug; 1

CnqllentlS/,byadiusting-the position of `the nutt38-on'. the bqlt'jtensioninihe ,springs35 may be varied..

The upper Aarmw34lT of ithe Alever 34 'carries varo1ler 39 whi'chjis' normallydisposedbetween, a pair of latchguide plates L40"and-41". Said guideplates arel cachin the gen. eral l shape -of a -righttriangle Ywithi the hypotenuse facing;- l downwardly and outwardly'. The outer ends ofsaidrgpide plates` are pivotedf: to-a mounting `plate 42'tby means of The) mounting yplate- 42 isattach`ed to-- a bracket 45 on the latch post 13, substantially as shown. A stop lug 46 is secured to the mounting plate 42 between inner projections 47 and 48 of the gate plates in order to hold them in the horizontal position. Extending outwardly from the projections 47 and 48 are lugs 49 and 50 under which there is disposed a bar 51 having recesses 52 and 53 to engage said lugs 49 and 50, respectively. The lifting bar 51 is attached to the end or integral with a vertical lifting rod 54 which is slidably mounted on the post 13 in brackets 55 and 56. The upper end of the rod 54 is provided with a curvedportion 57 to facilitate lifting it manually and with an abutment lug 58 to prevent it from dropping down too far.

The gate 11 is further constructed so as to provide a vertical opening at the center, such as that between inner vertical frame members 59 and 60 and horizontal frame members 61 and 62. In this center opening there is pivotally disposed a hollow triangular shaped bump member 63 which is pivoted along one corner to the gate by means of a vertical shaft 64, said shaft being attached between the horizontal frame members 61 and 62. Within the hollow triangle member 63 there is mounted a vertical member 65, said member being also secured to the frame members 61 and 62. The side 66 of the member 63 opposite the shaft 64 is circular, the center of curvature thereof being substantially coincident with the pivot point of said member. The post 65 is provided with a radial abutment member 67 projecting toward the side 66. A curved rod 68 parallel to the curvature of the side 66 is disposed within the member 63 adjacent and parallel to said side 66 by securing the ends thereof in bosses 69 and 70. Said curved rod 68 also slidably engages an aperture 70 in said abutment member 67. A coil spring 71 is mounted between the boss 69 and abutment member 67 and another coil spring 72 is mounted between the boss 76 and the abutment member 67, substantially as shown.

The upper horizontal frame member 73 of the gate has secured to it a double acting dash pot member 74 such as an ordinary shock absorber or door check having an operating arm '75. Said arm is connected to the post 12 by means of an adjustable link 76. The relation between the arm 75 and link 76 is such that in the neutral or normally closed position of the gate these two members are at an angle of approximately 90 degrees with each other.

ln actual operation, a vehicle slowly applies pressure against the pivoted member 63, such as by forcing the bumper of a car against it. As this pressure is applied, one of the springs 71 or 72, depending upon which side of the member 63 is being engaged by the vehicle, will become compressed and result in the application of a force against the abutment member 67 which is transmitted to the gate through the post 65. The application of this pressure also causes the lever 34 to pivot since the force will act through the gate on said lever at its pivoted point. Since the roller 39 at the upper end of the lever is in contact with one of the plates 40 or 41, as the case may be, this action causes the gate to move from its normally closed position and thereby causes the lever 34 to pivot on the gate against the action of the spring 35. As the force applied by the vehicle increases, the gate moves farther and farther until the lever 34 is pivoted to a position whereby the roller 39 is below the corresponding gate plate 40 or 41. When this happens, the gate springs open free of the latch means. As the gate opens, it is elevated because of the action of the caming surface 31 on the roller 32 as previously described.

After the gate is opened, it is prevented from closing immediately by the action of the dash pot 74, thereby permitting the vehicle to pass through the gate unharmed. For different lengths of vehicles, the dash pot may be adjusted to provide dilerent time lags.

In returning to its closed position the gate, under the delaying action of the dash pot 74, will reach the point where the roller 39 will strike the diagonal undersurface of the guide plate 40 or 41. This causes the guide plate to pivot upward thereby permitting the roller to pass beneath and stop when it abuts the other guide plate, whereupon the first guide plate drops down into its normally closed position. This action is the same irrespective of which side of the gate the vehicle is on.

Should a person on foot desire to open the gate, he lifts the bar 54 which causes the guide plates 40 and 41 to be pivoted upwardly about the bolts 43 and 44 thereby freeing the roller 39 and permitting the gate to be pushed open. f l

Although in the embodiment described above and illustrated in the drawing, the vbumper member is shown as a hinged element, it is apparent that other methods of resiliently supporting a bumper member to obtain equivalent results may be used.

I claim:

l. A swinging gate adapted to be operated by a vehicle, comprising, a gate member, a bumper member carried by and movable relative to the gate member, resiliently yieldable means for holding said bumper member in a neutral position relative to the gate, a latch mechanism for normally holding said gate in a closed position and releasing said gate when pressure is applied to the gate through said bumper member against the action of said yieldable means, said mechanism comprising a lever pivotally carried by the gate, said lever having an upper arm and a lower arm, resiliently yieldable means for holdying said lever in a substantially vertical position, a roller carried by the upper arm of said lever, a stationary member adjacent said lever, said member including means for holding said roller when said lever is in a vertical position and for releasing said roller when said lever is pivoted to a position between the vertical and the horizontal.

2. A swinging gate adapted to be operated by a vehicle, comprising, a gate member, a hinge post for swingingly supporting said gate, means, including a cam, for elevating said gate relative to said post when the gate is opened, a coil spring associated therewith and means for tensioning said coil spring when the gate is open so as to urge said gate to its closed position, a bumper member carried by and movable relative to the gate, resilient means for urging said bumper member to a neutral position, a latch mechanism for normally holding said gate in a closed position and releasing said gate when pressure is applied to the gate through said bumper against the action of said resilient means, said mechanism comprising a lever pivotally carried by the gate, said lever having an upper arm and a lower arm, resiliently yieldable means for holding said lever in a substantially vertical position, a roller carried by the upper arm of said lever, a stationary member adjacent said lever, said stationary member including means for holding said roller when said lever is in a vertical position and for releasing said roller when said lever is pivoted to a position between the vertical and horizontal.

3. A swinging gate as defined by claim l having a dash Y pot between the gate member and the hinge post to delay the closing action of the gate.

4. A swinging gate adapted to be operated by a vehicle, comprising, a gate member, a hinge post for swingly supporting said gate, means, including a cam, for elevating said gate relative to said post when the gate is opened, a coil spring associated therewith and means for tensioning said coil spring when the gate is open so as to urge said gate to its closed position, a bumper member carried by and movable relative to the gate, resilient means for urging said bumper member to a neutral position, a latch mechanism for normally holding said gate in a closed position and releasing said gate when pressure is applied to the gate through said bumper against the action of said resilient means, said mechanism comprising a lever pivotally carried by the gate, said lever having an upper arm and a lower arm, resiliently yieldable means for holding said lever in a substantially vertical position, a roller carried by the upper arm of said lever, a latch post adjacent said lever, means associated with said latch post for holding said roller when said lever is in a vertical position and for releasing said roller when said lever is pivoted to a position between the vertical and the horizontal, means for adjustably supporting said latch post and hinge post, said means comprising a hollow cylindrical member adapted to bev embedded in the ground, horizontal radial rods projecting through the bottom of said cylindrical member, the bottom of each post having slots adapted to engage and rest on said rods and radial set screws at the top kof said cylindrical member adapted to adjustably abut said posts.

5. A swinging gate adapted to be operated by a vehicle, comprising, a gate member, a hinge post for swingingly supporting said gate, means, including a cam, for elevating said gate relative to said post when the gate is opened, a co`i l spring associated therewith and means for tenslomng said coll spring when the gate is open so as to urge said gate to its closed position, a bumper member carried by and movable relative to the gate, resilient means for urging said bumper member to a neutral position, a latch mechanism for normally holding said gate in a closed position and releasing said gate when pressure is applied to the gate through said bumper against the action of said resilient means, said mechanism comprising a lever pivotally carried by the gate, said lever having an upper arm and a lower arm, resiliently yieldable means for holding said lever in a substantially vertical position, a roller carried by the upper arm of said lever, a stationary member adjacent said lever, a pair of spaced pivoted latch guides on said stationary member, said roller being disposed between said guides and means for manually pivoting said guides in a position free of said roller.

6. A latch mechanism for a swinging bumper gate comprising a lever carried by the gate at the outer swingable end thereof and pivoted thereto about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the swing axis of the gate, said lever having an upper arm and a lower arm, resiliently yieldable means for holding said lever in a substantially vertical position, a roller carried by the upper arm of the lever, a stationary member adjacent said lever, a pair of spaced latch guides on said stationary member, said roller in the normally closed position of the gate being disposed between said guides, whereby lateral pressure against the gate from either side will force the roller against one of the guides and cause the lever to pivot against the action of said resiliently yieldable means until the roller becomes disengaged from the guide, whereupon the lever will return to its normally vertical position under the action of said resiliently yieldable means.

7. In combination with a swinging bumper gate, a latch mechanism comprising a lever pivotally carried by the gate at the outer swingable end thereof, said lever having an upper arm and a lower arm, resiliently yieldable means for holding said lever in a substantially vertical position, a roller carried by the upper arm of said lever, a latch post adjacent said lever in the closed position of the gate, means connected to the latch post for holding said roller when said lever is in a vertical position and for releasing said roller when said lever is pivoted in either direction to a position between the vertical and horizontal.

8. In combination with a swinging bumper gate, a latch mechanism comprising a lever pivotally carried by the gate at the outer swingable end thereof, said lever having an upper arm and a lower arm, resiliently yieldable means for holding said lever in a substantially vertical position, a roller carried by the upper arm of said lever, a latch post adjacent said lever in the closed position of the gate, a pair of latch guide plates carried by the post, said plates being spaced apart in a direction ,at right angles to the plane of the gate, the space between said plates being for the reception of the roller in the closed position of the gate, said plates being pivotally connected at their outer ends to the latch post and having their bottom edges sloping upwardly and outwardly, horizontal lugs secured to the inner end-s of said plates and projecting outwardly from the face thereof, a horizontal bar against the bottom of said lugs, means for holding said bar in a fixed position relative to the lugs, and means for manually moving the bar vertically to elevate the lugs and inner ends of the plates to release the roller from the plates.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 615,950 Barger Dec. 13, 1898 1,099,026 Crawford-Frost lune 2, 1914 1,136,102 Clapcott Apr. 20, 1915 1,180,814 Ziganek Apr. 25, 1916 1,232,340 Lehson July 3, 1917 1,596,388 Barnhart Aug. 17, 1926 1,648,691 Matthews Nov. 8, 1927 2,062,738 Bigler Dec. 1, 1936 2,076,092 Pinard Apr. 6, 1937 2,086,061 Barr July 6, 1937 2,118,722 Bock May 24, 1938 2,538,470 Peeples Jan. 16, 1951 2,585,481 Martin Feb. 12, 1952 

